All-Iowa Football: 2017 Elite Team full of explosive playmakers

Introducing the 2017 All-Iowa Football Player of the Year Finalists. Cody Goodwin/Des Moines Register
Cody Goodwin

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Dowling Catholic's Jayson Murray (2) runs for a touchdown to make it 36-7 during the second half of their 4A state semi-final football game at the UNI Dome on Friday, Nov. 10, 2017, in Cedar Falls. Dowling moves onto the state championship with a 44-7 win over Ankeny Centennial.(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)Buy Photo

The vast majority of the Des Moines Register’s 2017 All-Iowa Elite Team is made up of talent from Class 4A. But a few from some traditional Class 3A powers emerged as some of the state’s best. And our Elite punter hails from a Class A program.

But the rest of the selections are from Iowa’s largest class. It was a good year for those guys, to be sure. Undeniably competitive football from start to finish, and as our Elite Team began to take shape, it became clear that explosive playmakers were plentiful.

Then there are the receivers: Iowa City West’s Traevis Buchanan, Dowling Catholic’s Sam Ingoli and Iowa City High’s Zach Jones. Buchanan became just the second West receiver to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a single season (Oliver Martin did it twice), punctuated by an electric one-handed catch in the 4A title game. Ingoli averaged 24.6 yards per reception. Jones hauled in 77 catches this year — including 16 in a single game.

“In our pass game sometimes, if we were in doubt, we just threw it up to Sam to see if he could make a play,” said Tom Wilson, head coach at Dowling, who led all teams with five Elite selections. “He did that several times.”

Two quarterbacks made it onto our Elite Team Offense. The first: Evan Flitz, the leader of the mighty Trojan passing offense. Flitz ended the season with 2,978 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, five interceptions, 70.6 completion percentage. Nine times this season, he passed for more than 200 yards — including a 30-for-40, 350-yard outing against Dowling in the 4A title game.

The other: Des Moines Lincoln’s Will McElvain, our Elite Utility pick, who ended the season as perhaps the most dangerous player in 4A. The Iowa State-bound senior amassed 2,331 passing yards, another 1,007 rushing and 38 total touchdowns, all in just nine games.

“I’m just glad he was on my side,” Lincoln coach Derek Summy said.

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Lincoln High senior quarterback and Iowa State recruit Will McElvain (2) tries to get past Ankeny Centennial senior defensive end Max Dahn (36) as the Lincoln Railsplitters battle the Ankeny Centennial Jaguars during the first half of the Homecoming game in Ankeny.(Photo: Lee Navin / For the Register (ph)

Defensively, the same explosive characteristics abound. The defensive line is anchored by Solon’s Tyler Linderbaum, one of the most productive two-way linemen of the 2017 season. Joining him: Bettendorf’s Jatten Kuhrt, 4A’s leader in tackles for loss; North Scott’s Zach Petersen, owner of 16 tackles for loss and 10 sacks; and Dowling’s John Waggoner, the state’s top 2018 recruit who committed to Iowa this week.

Our linebackers oozed production this fall: Cedar Falls’ Jack Campbell, who was a threat as a run-stopper, pass-rusher and pass-defender; Johnston’s Nathan Newcomb, the leader of the Dragons’ mean defense; Dowling’s Mitchell Riggs, perhaps the most productive linebacker of Wilson’s tenure; and Dillon Doyle, who helped transform West’s defense into a top-10 unit at regular season’s end.

“Our defense was a work in progress to begin with, but we knew we had the pieces,” said Garrett Hartwig, head coach of West, which boasts three Elite selections. “Dillon was right there at the forefront. He was as quality of a leader as I’ve had during my tenure as coach.”

West High's Dillon Doyle celebrates after stopping Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Justin Johnson during their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Talent continues in the defensive backfield. There’s the state’s interception leader, Webster City’s Dylan Steen, who ended the year with 10 and took two back for touchdowns. There’s Ankeny Centennial’s Riley Moss, who had just one pick this fall because quarterbacks actively avoided his direction.

Rounding out the defensive backs is Quinn Schulte of Cedar Rapids Xavier, who had five interceptions, 35.5 tackles and piled up more than 2,000 total yards of offense along with 34 touchdowns. We slotted Schulte to 3A’s Utility position in addition to his Elite selection.

“We think he’s one of the best athletes in the state,” Xavier coach Duane Schulte wrote in an email to the Register. “His numbers (on defense) would’ve been perhaps better but we had many (three) and outs.”

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Xavier, Cedar Rapids' Quinn Schulte (5) rushes during their state semi-final football game at the UNI Dome on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, in Cedar Falls. (Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

Our specialists contain some of the state’s strongest legs. Ankeny Centennial’s Jake Pinegar routinely connected on field goals of 40 yards or longer, and often sent kickoffs through the opposing end zones. Woodbury Central’s Nick Phelps averaged 44.4 yards per punt — and recorded a long of 81.

Big-time plays are made routinely during any given football season, but big-time players make them often. Our 2017 All-Iowa Elite Team, with the help of feedback from coaches, recruiting contacts and observations from Register writers, ended up full of them.

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All-Iowa logo(Photo: Des Moines Register)

Des Moines Register Sports Awards

The Des Moines Register Sports Awards recognizes and honors top athletes from across the state of Iowa in 21 sports. This event is hosted by the Des Moines Register and will take place June 23, 2018 at Wells Fargo Arena. The show features various awards, contests and a special appearance from a celebrity guest. The celebrity guest speaker will be announced in the Des Moines Register and DesMoinesRegister.com in the coming weeks. Past guests were Peyton Manning and Shaquille O’Neal.